OK, I've been monitor shopping. Was looking at the new Dell S2209w which is a high res HD monitor, but is a TN panel. In my hunt, I came across the Dell 2209WA and I am getting conflicting info. Somewhere I saw that it is an IPS panel. If that's true, it would be the least expensive IPS screen I've ever heard of . Does anyone know anything about this monitor. Specifically, has anyone actually seen one? Thoughts?

According to this it's an IPS panel. It seems strange for a $300 display to have even a PVA panel, let alone IPS.

Looks like you'll have to order through the Business section of the Dell website though. Not sure if they actually check you out on that.

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Hmmm ... yes it does say IPS
OK, since I'm not very knowledgeable about these things -- does IPS automatically make it better for photo editing or are there lousy IPS panels? Photography will be the primary use -- I'm not a gamer at all. This price seems awfully good. My experience with Dell monitors (I use them all the time at work, but not for color-critical applications) has been great and I came close to buying the $100 cheaper s2209w which is a 21.5" TN panel (and actually claims a higher resolution), but then I saw a reference to this one and this sounds superior. Does anyone out there have any direct experience or has anyone heard any pluses or minuses about this beast?

IPS means that there will be no chroma shift with changing viewing angles. This is very important for consistency whenediting photos, but as always there are different quality screens. The dell for instance will lack the colour accuracy, backlight consistency, or features such as colour lookup tables that are found in expensive monitors.

That said Dell make some of the cheapest IPS screens in the industry and they are still eons better than editing on a TN or PVA pannel

Well, I am having our IT guys at work see if they can get me a deal on it. I am part of the Dell Employee Purchase Plan (our hospital is 100% Dell), but this one is not offered to EPP members at discount. On the other hand, since we buy a gazillion dollars of Dell annually, they have come through for me in the past on oddball items.

The IPS panel is so appealing, but I can't justify spending alot of $$ on a monitor right now. I'll probably buy it anyway, discount or not. I'll let you folks know what happens. I must say that the S2209WA (a consumer TN panel, but full 1080i) sure was attractive too, but that TN designation scared me off.

Definitely do not buy a monitor developed with the TN process. I bought a Dell E228WFP and it could not display greys properly, no matter what settings I changed. Everything had a mushy reddish-yellowish tint and the colour rendition was generally terrible.

Well I bit the bullet and ordered the 2209WA -- total price including tax and shipping was $299.20 with my 7% employee discount (if you are at a place that uses alot of Dell equipment, look into this). List price if you don't have the plan is $299 with free shipping at the moment ... you then need to add tax. If the IPS panel is good, it is by far the cheapest I've encountered.

I'll let you know how it works out ... It has great reviews, but it is still new without a significant user base.

Yes, I like it very much. Bright and color reproduction seems quite good. I have never used another monitor except the WUXGA+ on my Dell Latitude 830 laptop, but I am very happy. I do want to buy a calibrator and that's my next step.